Write Stuff

Character Questions

2014-06-13T16:08:00.004-04:00

I'm sure these things to know about your characters can be useful. Most are things I don't know until I get to them in the writing. But even more problematic for me is that they're things I don't really know about myself as they're not relevant. When they become relevant in my life or in my characters' lives, then I figure them out. But other people might find them a good character exercise.

Worth Reading

2014-03-30T13:04:00.004-04:00

Patricia Wrede makes some good points re: fanfiction.

Ten Things

2014-03-06T13:53:00.004-05:00

This list of ten things for science fiction writers is pretty darn good.

The Rules

2014-02-17T13:42:00.004-05:00

Patricia Wrede on the rules of writing.

Writing Advice that Annoys Me

2013-10-28T19:03:00.001-04:00

I haven't written much, if anything, actually, in the last couple of years, but that doesn't stop me from looking at writing advice. And if I'd try to follow this advice, I would have given up trying to write years and years ago. In fact, it reminds me of the advice that did make me give up for a decade or so back in the '80s.

First, it compares writing to climbing a mountain. Uh, no. Mountain-climbing is a pretty standard activity. There is standard equipment and there are standard procedures one should follow. It's a clearly defined task. See mountain, climb mountain. But a book? No. Because while some people can see the mountain/end point of their book, vague or clear, not everyone can. Some people write so they can find the mountain/story/conclusion.

Second, it's kinda vague. Suggestions include reading novels to see what works and reading books on writing craft. Which of course can lead to frustration if, like me, you can't analyze books as to what works and if, like me, you find books on writing craft don't apply to you. No actual, practical tips on how to do anything is offered.

The author of the advice touches on pov, character, style. The suggestion to consider what your characters would do if they were to meet a relative they didn't know about might help some writers develop their characters' personalities, but for others, like me, it's just an exercise and I never was good at those. I always discover my characters as I write them doing the things that come up in the actual story set in the actual reality they live in. My characters reveal themselves to me. They can surprise me months down the line as I write about them.

I really shouldn't look at writing advice. It usually just annoys me. But there's always the chance I'll read something that makes sense to me. So I keep reading these articles, and hoping.

Five Step Writing Advice

2013-09-01T12:16:00.002-04:00

These tips on turning bad writing into good writing might actually work for some folks. It would help if you're good at editing things down into more succinct passages rather than the sort of person who's better at succinct and can expand as needed.

Useful Advice

2013-06-01T13:19:00.001-04:00

I usually have problems with writing advice, especially when the writers present the advice as rules, but this post has some really helpful examples of ways around "said/asked" issues that I'll forgive the comment that using said with an adverb is amateurish because I've read sentence structures with that in quite nicely written novels.

Getting Things Right

2013-05-26T12:50:00.000-04:00

Words of wisdom from Patricia C. Wrede.

Legalizing Fanfic

2013-05-22T18:12:00.002-04:00

I have no idea what to make of this arrangement between Amazon, and so far, Warners, to let people offer up their fanfic of Warner properties for sale. On the one hand, I'm all for legitimizing fanfic, but on the other hand, it can detract from the pro writers. There's no filter this way. Not all fanzines are created equal, and since the internet, fanfic has been offered up unedited for years, but at least with zines, there's the chance of editing. All I know for certain is the world is definitely changing when it comes to creative endeavors.

Writing Female Characters

2012-05-22T19:45:00.001-04:00

Writer Greg Rucka on writing female characters. Very well put.

Fanfic Gaining Traction

2012-05-06T11:27:00.000-04:00

This article on fan fiction has me wondering if the stigma might finally be coming off fanfic and what that will mean for the people who write it.

Fan Fiction is Really Not Like This

2011-08-16T13:14:00.002-04:00

Well, a lot is. This is the sort of thing that gives fanfic a black eye. Fanfic, IMO, is fine; plagiarism is not.

Place Name Generators

2011-07-03T16:50:00.000-04:00

A list compiled by Paperback Writer.

Why He Writes

2011-04-23T12:05:00.000-04:00

Publishers Weekly has a nifty feature: "Why I Write..." which is written each issue by a different writer. They're short pieces, not even a full page. In the April 11, 2011 issue, which features articles on SFF. Harry Turtledove explained why he writes, which is basically that he can't not write. And he said this, too:

"Very often, when I'm working, I'm interested in finding out what happens next, because sometimes I don't know in advance. I'm not a writer who plans everything out before it goes down on paper. I usually know in broad terms where I'm going, but not how I'll get there. And getting there, as in so many things, is much of the fun."

He says other cool stuff, too, about wanting to entertain and about the joys of research, but this is what really resonated with me. I don't usually have the broad idea of where I'm going, at least, not until I've written 1/3 to 1/2 of the story and can see things starting to gel and unfold. And when I read things like this from successful writers, I want to take it and rub it into the faces of the people I interacted with on AOL's old Writers Club message boards, those people who insisted outlining in advance was the "right" way to do it.

Writing Process

2011-04-01T01:10:00.000-04:00

This chart found on Boing Boing is funny yet rings true.

Another Author Flare-Up

2011-03-29T11:29:00.000-04:00

I shouldn't be so amused and entertained by this sort of thing, but I am. A self-published author freaks out after a poor review on Amazon cites numerous typos, misspellings, and poor grammar. The entertainment factor kicks in by her response, which is full of... yup, you guessed it! Typos, misspellings, and poor grammar. I've got nothing against self-publishing. I actually admire folks who do it and succeed with it. But really, if you can't act like a professional, at least act like an adult.

This is On Target

2011-03-19T15:10:00.002-04:00

Surprising results given the choices weren't all that relevant to me. This is, after all, what I write.

You Are Fantasy / Sci Fi

You have an amazing imagination, and in your mind, all things are possible.

You are open minded, and you find the future exciting. You crave novelty and progress.

Compared to most people, you are quirky and even a bit eccentric. You have some wacky ideas.

And while you may be a bit off the wall, there's no denying how insightful and creative you are.

What Kind of Book Are You?

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

A Fresh Face

2011-03-18T15:08:00.000-04:00

I decided to perk this blog up a bit. No big redesign, just tweaking the template. I also added a links section for articles I've found online with advice for writing query letters and synopses. If you know of any other good ones, let me know in a comment. Thanks.

I'm slowing going through my links on delicious, which include a lot of writing links and I plan to organize them more there, and add more sections of links here. I'm mostly doing this for me, but if they help anyone reading, that's great.

I'm still blogging about my personal writing over on my LiveJournal, with the posts mostly friends locked, but I do want to keep using this blog for general posts about writing.

As an update, I'm finished the final draft of my ms, finally! and am now working on the query letter and synopsis, which is why I've tackled those links first.

For Your Consideration or Amusement

2011-02-26T12:31:00.001-05:00

I really dislike the whole "rules of writing" thing. Back in my AOL Writers Club message board days, a number of pro writers suggested that the only true rules were the ones governing grammar, spelling, and punctuation (which could be broken as needed) and the notion that words must somehow be committed to paper or pixels. So you can imagine that this article on some writing rules gave me a few chuckles.

This one really gave me pause, and a giggle:

"7. Smarten up your protagonist.
Your protagonist is your reader’s portal into the story. The more observant he or she can be, the more vivid will be the world you’re creating. They don’t have to be super-educated, they just have to be mentally active. Keep them looking, thinking, wondering, remembering."

This could be useful for some situations, ie a tight third person narration or first person narration using the protag, but if you're writing omniscient, I don't see how this is a factor. The storyteller not being the protag can reveal whatever the author wants revealed.

And that's the problem with advice about rules, or even guidelines which are somewhat better/more useful. They're often unclear. They can be confusing or even contradictory. They often need explanations and they have exceptions. Sometimes, explaining everything that would follow would take a book. If you leave off a detail, as in the narrative style or pov affecting what #7 excerpted above says, then you'll give an eager writer looking for advice a likely wrong impression. That writer might be a newbie who doesn't know yet how to use that "rule" or "guideline" in his or her own work/writing style. And the attempt to force it to work could make things worse. And that leads to frustration. Believe me, I'm the voice of experience here, though the "rules" I'd try to slavishly follow were different than in this list, mostly. Enough so that I tried to stop writing for a decade.

Here's a link that's much more fun: 100 Best First Lines.

What Rules?

2010-12-10T21:46:00.000-05:00

Here's a good take on supposed writing rules and what a story should do. Some good advice, too.

The Dreaded Query

2010-11-20T22:36:00.000-05:00

Advice on querying, from an editor and a writer.

100 Best First Lines

2010-09-26T12:06:00.000-04:00

I don't think I've posted this before. It's pretty cool: 100 Best First Lines From Novels. Found on Bill Crider's blog. He's a mystery writer who doesn't blog about writing, but about books and popular culture and oddities in the news.

My favorite first line from a book I've read is:

He drank alone.

It's also the entire first paragraph of John Steakley's military science fiction novel Armor.

Need a Subtitle?

2010-08-21T21:48:00.000-04:00

Here's a generator of subtitles for non-fiction books. I'm not sure how long this chart will be readily available on Publishers Weekly's site, but it shows how predictable non-fic subtitles have become.

Building Characters

2010-06-07T11:45:00.000-04:00

Some interesting things here, on Lynn Viehl's blog, most of which I don't find useful or relevant for my writing or writing process. But the journaling idea is pretty cool. I might try that.

Fanfiction

2010-05-14T00:49:00.000-04:00

Fanfiction is in the midst of another controversy. Here's a good sum-up and defense of fanfic, one of the best I've read.